Shattered Souls
by Minions22
Summary: "My name is Nico di Angelo, protector of demigods. Sounds interesting? It's not; my job includes showing demigods to Camp and females to the Hunt, and now I have to join the Hunt. Why do I always have the worst luck when it comes to girls?" When Nico joins the Hunt, will he find peace amongst it, and more importantly, Artemis? Includes minor language. Nico x Artemis, minor Thalico.
1. The Cheated Girlfriend

**Welcome reader to the Shattered Souls Chronicles! Before you start reading, be aware that I do not go through each and every one of my chapter looking for errors, so if you find one, please feel free to PM me about it, if you want. Also, I do not, sadly, own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, nor the Heroes of Olympus series. All rights go to Rick Riordan. I do not own any of the characters, except for Raven and a few more characters you will become familiar with at the end. So, without further ado, welcome to the first chapter, The Cheated Girlfriend.**

If you'd asked 16 years old Nico di Angelo whether he'd be breaking up with his long-time girlfriend Skylar Bloom, daughter of Zeus, anytime soon, he would've probably given you a deluxe death glare, then would've given you some unnecessary choice words; but that's what had got him running from Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, Olympus, the Underworld, and the Hunters of Artemis.

It'd all begun when Nico figured out why Skylar had been so distant from him. Ever since their fall into Tartarus (a **very** long and dramatic story you do **not** want to hear) they had been almost inseparable, freaking out when either had even gotten a small scratch. But these days, Skylar had been keeping away from him. Nico had asked Annabeth what she thought, but all she had done is coldly tell him that it was nothing more than her hormones, and that he should stop being so possessive, before storming off to meet Percy and Jason (who had broken up with Piper to be with Reyna), and who, in fact, were giving Nico the exact same look.

Nico had thought over her words and dismissed it, but that seemed to infuriate the campers even more. He put that down to the fact that his douche of a brother, Eric Hickson, trying to ruin his life. He had already gotten to most of the camp, and the only ones left were his two sisters, Hazel Levesque and Raven Claw ( **AN** **: See what I did there? No? Never mind….** ), Skylar, and, quite surprisingly, Piper Mclean, the daughter and head counselor for the Aphrodite Cabin. Camp Jupiter had blended into Camp Half-Blood, but had left the area exactly how it was.

Nico walked over to the Hades Cabin, still deep in thought, and didn't notice the closed door, and walked straight into it. Cursing, he shoved the door open, annoyed at his stupidity. It would've been better if he had stayed outside, because what he saw inside led him to the worst argument he had ever had the displeasure of fighting. Skylar, making out with his ass of a brother, Eric. He cleared his throat to catch their attention, before engaging in a ferocious yelling battle between Skylar.

"Sky, what in dad's name is going on here?"

"Nico, Hades has disowned you, you idiot!"

"What?! You know, don't answer that, tell me why the person I most trusted other than Piper, Hazel, and Raven is making out with the person I hate the most!"

"Ha! The only other person who you can rely on is pretty little Piper who can't fight to save her life! Hazel and Raven have died. They were killed by some hellhounds that invaded our camp!"

"WHAT!?"

* * *

*Two Hours Later*

Nico P.O.V

"I hate you!"

Yup, it had gotten that long. And bad, but mostly long. Our other fights were usually about who is and who isn't fighting in a battle, etc, so it was slightly different. Our powers had also gotten pretty out of control so Skylar was now 4 feet in the air, with her hair flying all around her, and her body crackling with electricity. Me, on the other hand, was hovering on a cloud of shadows, emitting a wave of fear occasionally, and pretty much doing the superficial 'Hades spawn' thing. Not that I am one anymore; Hades apparently _disowned_ me. I mean, I fought in his name for _two_ wars, fell in Tartarus _twice_ , fought against Tartarus _twice_ , managed to keep the Underworld safe when _he_ couldn't, and he _still_ chose my pathetic ex-brother over me. I mean, the most he's done is freak out when fighting against hellhounds, while _I_ had to fight all the battles. He really is an asshole.

Hushed whispers surrounded us, and I picked out Travis and Conner Stoll betting on either who is going to win the battle between us, or on whether we were going to kill each other.

"You know what? I honestly don't give a shit about this relationship anymore. You want to go flirt with all the boys in this camp? Be my guest, because you and I are through, Skylar Bloom!"

I turn to shadow travel out of there as fast as I can, because I honestly never want to hear from either camp ever again, but before I could, I hear Piper calling out. I grab her hand and then disappear. Thankfully she had gotten pretty used to my sort of transport, because I wasn't willing to stop until I had gotten as far away from the camps as possible. I start walking away from the borders, but soon, she pulls me to a stop, and gives me this look that clearly says 'do you have any idea what you're doing?'

"Actually, yes. I never want to step foot in there again, and I most definitely want to travel as far away from there as possible."

"What about me? I mean, I'll come along if you want me too, but-"

"No. I can't risk getting you hurt, so I'll drop you off back at the Camp. But before that, I need to tell you something. While I was, um-"

"Yelling about Skylar cheating on you, yes, continue?"

I glare at her, but I don't keep it up, because she is the only person I know of, since my sisters' deaths and Skylar's betrayal, that still trusts me.

"As I was saying, um, I accidently cursed the Camp..."

It takes her a few seconds for her to actually process something as farfetched as that, but when she does, she starts hyperventilating about it."

"WHAT?! _How_ did that happen? _When_ did it happen? _Why_ did you have to curse the camp?"

I raise my hands. "Woah, calm down. It happened while I was breaking up with her, and the curse went something like 'nobody in the whole camp will live a perfect life until they've cleared stuff up with me'. You're good to go."

She exhales deeply, and gives me hug. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yeah." I lift my jackets sleeve to show her an elaborately decorated bracelet. "Skylar, before Eric came, gave me this bracelet. It's a thirteenth birthday gift from Olympus to her, and she asked for a duplicate for me. The fourteen charms represent each gift given from all the Olympians, plus fa-Hades and Hestia. The tent charm can expand into a tent that provides any sort of comfort needed."

Piper looks impressed, and turns to leave, but before she does that, she kisses me on the cheek. "Stay safe, Death Breath."

I smile, though my mind is reeling. "You too, Beauty Queen."

She laughs, and walks away. I stare after her, before walking away as well. Today was one heck of a day, and if I was to survive, I was going to stop thinking of my past, and move forward. Later on, when the sun has set, I set up my own mini camp, and make a fire. This was going to be one journey I was always going to remember, but I had to stay alive to do that. I curl up in the tent, and fall asleep. Little did I know that I was the only one in the area...

* * *

 **Finally! The first chapter is complete. I'll try and update as soon as I can, but don't expect one for at least a couple of days, unless I feel lenient and give you an early 2016 present :3**

 **Remember, don't forget to read and review!**


	2. The Powerful Demigod

**A.N: At last! The probably not so long second chapter has arrived. Sorry for not updating, but I've been really busy. Thank you Judy Fox for reviewing, and I'm glad you like it. As to Nico's love life, well, I will make things pretty difficult in his love life! Now, without further ado, welcome to the second chapter, The Powerful Demigod.**

* * *

Nico P.O.V

Sometimes I wonder whether living is for the greater good or not. But then again, sometimes I know it isn't, and that's just how life works. So when you wake up to two really pretty girls staring at you, I'll give you one word of advice. No, it's not run; it's fight. Because I know from experience that most stalkers are monsters or immortals in disguise, and both are threats to humankind. Why? Because they can easily kill you with NO PROBLEM AT ALL.

"-do you think he's awake?"

"Well, if we continue talking, Aunt, he sure will be!"

"Sorry dear, I-" 'Aunt' doesn't get to finish her sentence, because as soon as she opens her mouth again, I grab my sword pin the 'Aunt' to a tree, and press the sword to the elders throat. I summon shadows to attack the niece and pin her to a tree as well. The aunt seems to be pretty normal looking, if not slightly too peaceful for a monster, but I wasn't going to let that fool me like last time (long story, included duct tape and a few broken bones. Don't ask me again).

"Nico di Angelo, if you're going to go all violent on me, you might as well hold the sword the right way." I glance at my sword hand, and that's all she needed to pull me off. Don't get me wrong; I mean, she was speaking the truth, which probably explained the stinging in my right arm. I blush and turn my sword around, so the blade is pointing towards the two of them. Don't ask me how the niece managed tried to get herself out of my shadow arms. I'm guessing that my ADHD is to blame there.

"How did you know my name?" I was curious to know, but boy, was I surprised at her answer.

"My dear, I don't think there's a god or goddess up on Olympus who doesn't know your name. A son of Hades who's willing to sacrifice himself for others? A hero, of not one, but two wars? A boy who was able to even win the respect of Artemis? Yes, I think I would know your name, Nico." _Well, there goes my life. Managing to piss off, not one, but two goddesses at the same time? Yeah, I definitely have a death wish. Great going, di Angelo._

"Ladies Hestia and Athena. What do I owe the pleasure of having two very powerful goddesses coming to see me?" Yes, I know, I was layering on the flattery pretty big, and it seemed that it wasn't working; Athena was giving me the 'this guy is acting really suspicious, I should kill him' look, but at least all Hestia did was laugh charmingly and place a comforting arm on her shoulder.

"Why, we'd like to make you our champion." Well, those were eight words I did not expect to hear. I stare blankly at her, blinking like an idiot.

Athena sighed and asked Hestia tightly, "Why did I agree to this again?"

"Because you and I are the only ones who still believe that Nico di Angelo is not guilty."

"Guilty of what?" Both the goddesses jump at the sound of my voice, but they shake it off and both send me cheesy yet fake large smiles.

"Nothing! Now, as goddesses, we are able to choose whoever we like to be our 'champion', which means that you will receive a blessing from both of us. In addition to your powers, you will now be able to control hellfire, which is fire straight from the pits of Tartarus, summon any sort of meal you'd like, have better reflexes, and you will now be the second most smartest person to walk the Earth. In return, you will bear the consequences of having two goddesses helping you, will help demigods and mortals alike in finding their way to either the hunt or Camp, and you will attract more monsters than ever before, but that won't be a problem with your new powers. Do you accept our blessing?" Hestia and Athena both look at me, and I have the strange feeling that if I don't accept, I'll be turned into some sort of animal.

"I…accept. Thank you, Ladies Athena and Hestia." I bow low to her, and close my eyes as Athena steps forward to transfer the power. As soon as she touches me, I feel a flare of pain in my head, but it isn't anything I haven't felt before, so I grit my teeth and force myself to stand still. As soon as she removes her hand, I feel stronger, and most importantly, more refreshed. The change is _incredible_. As promised, my abilities are more refined, and my senses more sharpened. As Hestia steps forward, Athena steps back, with a curious look at me. Hestia repeats the process, except this time, there is no pain, only relief.

"Son of Hades, you did not even flinch when I bestowed the power onto you. Most people would've been screaming their heads off on the floor, yet you didn't. How is that?"

"With all due respect and more Lady Athena, I'm actually an ex-son of Hades, and probably the least pain I've felt. Try falling into Tartarus twice, and then you can ask me the same question." I explain as calmly as I can, whilst inside I'm pushing the bad memories away as far as possible. Athena gives me a look of pity, and I have to bite my tongue to not tell her to stop giving me that look.

"Well, Zeus will be expecting us for another pointless conference on whether you should live- I mean, on whether Prometheus should or shouldn't be allowed to stop his punishment. Goodbye and good luck!" Hestia and Athena get ready to disappear, and they do so before I can ask about the slip up. I sigh and use my radar scan (cue hair flip and putting on shades) to scan the area for any demigods. I find one not so far away, in a broken down house. I start getting ready to shadow travel, when Athena speaks to me in my mind.

 _Nico, you have wings. Zeus doesn't know about them, but still fly very close to the ground, okay? This is Athena speaking, by the way._ Really? I thought you were Katy Perry. _Oh, shut up, di Angelo. Make sure you don't get seen, and get some sort outfit and a snazzy name. If you ever need my help, just call for me in your mind, and I'll send some reinforcements. Stay safe, okay?_ Her last words remind me of what Piper said before she left, and my cheeks grow slightly pink as I think of her. _You are so in love with that daughter of Aphrodite._ I was seriously thinking of kicking the goddess out of my head, when she just disappears. I raise an eyebrow, before shaking my head and summoning my wings. I turn my head around like an owl (I guess that Athena's influencing my thoughts) and my reels as I see my wings. They're midnight black, with accents of dark grey and silver, and the wingspan is at least 3 feet long. In short, they're totally my type. I grin and hover above the ground, and feel an adrenaline rush. Maybe being unlikable was worth the trouble. I fly over to the house and listen to the yelling going on inside.

"-pathetic! You can't do anything right, girl. I should've sold you off while I still could! Now go before I call the cops on you!" I seethe quietly, cursing the guy in every language I know in my head. _Who taught you these words, di Angelo? I mean, you honestly shouldn't be swearing whilst you've got an innocent goddess in your head._ I snort mentally; no immortal or demigod is innocent and she knows it.

I prepare to kick down the door, but instead give the guy the fright of his life. I shadow travel inside the building, and tower over the podgy guy with a bottle in each hand. One of the bottles is broken, and I think I know how it broke. I glare at the guy, but step back as he changes, turning into a monster not even I know the name of, and trust me; I've fought every monster that comes my way. He turns into a half donkey, half eagle, fully creepy thing, with a human face.

I see a small girl around the age of eight by the stairs, who's eyes speak everything I need to know. Her name, her age, her parentage; I knew it all. I take out my sword and palm it, facing it toward the, um, thing.

"What are you, exactly?" Don't blame me for being a bad conversation starter; it just comes naturally.

"Another foolish demigod? I live with one, and know she brought a friend? That girl is going to be sorry she was ever born!"

"No, you are. Do you know who I am?" Yes, he couldn't see my face; somehow, I had gotten some sort of armour that consisted of a black hood, black armour, some cool designs that completely covered me, and my ring that turned into a shield.

"I just said that you were a foolish demigod! I don't need more information!"

I simply shrug. If that's how stupid that guy was, I couldn't change him. I backflip, kicking him in his deformed chest, and he stumbles back with an enraged roar. I stab him in the leg, ducking down as he flung his arm out in hope of hitting me. I finish him off whilst he's still distracted, and brush the gold dust off me. I turn my head, and feel something wrapped around me. I tense, and the thing latches on even harder.

"Thank you so so so much!" Zoe, the little girl, starts crying into my chest, and I awkwardly hug her back. Don't blame me, I'm not used to hugging crying girls. After a few minutes, she stops crying and blinks her grey eyes at me. I smile at her and ask her one question.

"Do you know anything about Greek mythology?"

* * *

 **Don't kill me for the cliffhanger! *Dodges flying burrito* Where in Hades did that come from? Anyway, here's the chapter I made. I made it really long because I have no social life. Jokes. I'll try to update sometime soon, but don't be too disappointed if you don't get one in around 2 months, or something. School's starting, and I need to stop babbling right now. Love, peace and Nico di Angelo out!**


	3. The Deathly Meeting

**Aaaaand, here's another chappie! Thank you guys so much for reviewing! Now, before I start going all emotional on you people, welcome to the third chapter of Shattered Souls, The Deathly Meeting.**

I decide to take Zoe to the Huntresses, mostly because I can't return to Camp Half-Blood. Before leaving her there at the area where the Hunters are resting, I give her a last hug and give her a piece of paper that explains who she is, and who I am. I also press a skull charm with the words 'Black Shadow' on it into her hand, and before she turns away, she asks me one more question.

"Will I see you again?" She looks up at me imploringly, with those huge grey eyes that seem to draw you in. I hesitate before relenting.

"If you come here at six in the evening today, I'll show you something, okay?" She gives me a toothy grin and fleetingly hugs me, before running off to meet her new family. I stare after her tenderly; she can wrap you around her finger if she truly wants to. I walk away, and immediately start searching for more demigods.

* * *

I huff as the sixteen year old female demigod tripped over herself. Again. If her heels were hurting that bad, she should just take them off and leave them! It's not as if she was going to a fashion show, or something. Gods, she was annoying. Her name was Chloe Reed, a daughter of Aphrodite, and she was a pain in the ass.

"How much longer is this place you're taking me? Why can't Dad come as well? My feet are killing me!" I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to snap at her to take off those stupid stilettos.

"Just a few more minutes, okay? I'll shadow travel us there as soon as we're out of the city. Now, do you like dating?" I turn towards her while still managing to lead us to the park.

"Duh! I'm sixteen, what do you expect! For me to not be interested in boys?" She rolls her eyes at me, and I sigh. On the bright side, at least we were somewhere abandoned. I grip her shoulder and she squirms under my strong grip. I summon shadows to take us to the nearest place I can go; under a tree, by the road outside leading to Camp Half-Blood. The second we land, I glace at Chloe's face to see if she's okay. Her expression is something mixed with horror and shock. Then I realise I was still gripping her shoulder, and I let go, brushing my hand on my pants to get the feel of Chloe on me.

"What the hell was that! I think I'm gonna be sick…." She leans over, and I awkwardly shift around, not sure what to do. She swings upright again, a small amount of colour in her cheeks.

"You….okay?" Yeah, I know it was a shitty question, but then again, I haven't been around sick people for a long time. Most of the kids I ride to camp on my wings, but Chloe is the first for me to take shadow travelling.

"Perfectly fine! Now, where's the place?" She looks around like it's hiding in the bushes, or something. I roll my eyes at her and beckon for her to follow me. We stop outside the camp, where I give my signature skull charm, with the words Black Shadow engraved on it, and a slip of paper with who she is on it. The whole time, she's biting her bottom lip, and doesn't look me in the eye. I briefly touch her shoulder, and her expression goes neutral.

"Are you coming in with me?" she asks me, her brown eyes swirling with hazel waves looking up at me. My nose twitches as I shake my head, and I sigh.

"No; I'm not wanted or needed here, and to be honest, I don't want to go inside. You need to-" I break off as she kisses my cheek and runs inside. I blink, not sure what just happened.

 _You got played by yet another daughter of Aphrodite, that's what. First it was Piper Mclean and now Chloe Reed – you should really stop them flirting with you….._

I sigh. There was no point yelling at Athena to get out of my head; she would just come back and smack me over the head again, just like a boomerang. I'm really starting to hate that goddess, even though she and Hestia are the only immortals that still like me. Go figure.

 _Hey! At least you don't have to listen to all your pointless love stories 24/7. I swear, if you fall for another daughter of Aphrodite…_

Oh, shut up. I mentally make a smaller me try to push a miniature Athena out of my head, and I smirk in satisfaction when she popped out. I roll my eyes as she pops in again to tell me why she can't communicate with me for the next few hours, but to be truthful, I could really use the time alone.

* * *

Lady Artemis POV

I sigh as Apollo makes another really bad limerick. I mean, first it was poems in general, which was bad enough, then it was haikus, which was torturous, but now limericks? I mean it when I say that if I wasn't immortal, I would rather jump off a cliff than listen to another one of his 'cool stuff' –his words, not mine- poems.

Bickering comes from outside the room; the demigods were wondering whether to let themselves in or not. Since all the gods are half asleep, and Father wouldn't care less if the demigods outside would stay outside, except maybe for his own children, and Athena seems to be in her own world, as if she was having a conversation in her head, I disappear outside and let them in.

"Thanks Arty!" Skylar Bloom chirps at me. I forced a smile at her; who did she think she was? If it wasn't for Father not allowing us to hurt her, I'm sure plenty of the gods and goddesses would've killed her off by now.

"Hello Skylar," I say, and immediately turn away from her. She was probably the happiest of us all when Nico di Angelo left, which was really messed up, because I knew for a fact that Nico actually jumped into _Tartarus_ for her.

As all of us troop inside, Hephaestus leans over to press a button underneath his throne. A hologram of the 'Black Shadow' appears, and all of us hush to take in the man. He was around 6ft tall, with black combat boots, black ripped jeans and a black hoodie jacket, that was made to fit his 3ft long wings.

"As you may know," Hephaestus started, "we've been getting reports of a mysterious being also known as the 'Black Shadow', who is also a demigod protector, and is responsible for the many new demigods that have been shown to the camp, and the hunters of Artemis."

"Hephaestus's new device has helped us track him down, so will all the Head Counselors and Hunters of Artemis please stay behind after the rest of the meeting." Poseidon's eyes glimmered darkly, and only now do I ask myself whether it was Fate or not that Nico di Angelo was so shunned.

All the demigods start chattering amongst themselves, and my eyes quickly flicker to Athena, who looks like she was still in deep thought. For what, I don't know. I wonder what punishment the 'Black Shadow' will receive for being so secretive; the Olympians punish people for doing anything without permission, except Skylar Bloom, of course, because she's Fathers favourite girl.

 **Sorry for the cliffhanging ending! At least I updated, right? Anyways, in the next chapter, Nico will be confronted by LV, which also means that Nico will be showing off his new powers! Demigod out!**


	4. The Suspicious Goddess

**I'm back, with more 'Shattered Souls'! Here's a little chappie for your happy little hearts! Okay, wow, I sound like a cheerful poet who likes writing about pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows. Cue the shuddering. Anyways, without any further ado, welcome to the fourth chapter of The Shattered Souls Chronicles, The Suspicious Goddess.**

* * *

Nico P.O.V

I sigh as I relax for a couple of moments. Athena had just told me that the gods had sent a search party to kill the 'Black Shadow' because I'm doing the things satyrs are supposed to do. Honestly, sometimes the gods act like total assholes. A rustling noise comes from behind me, and I immediately grab my sword and twist my skull ring, which turns into a shield, not unlike the one Athena carries into battle. I turn slowly and scan the area; since when was there a dragon in the area? I creep towards the trees, and fall straight into a trap only worthy of Hephaestus or his kids.

"Listen Black Shadow, I don't want to hurt you, so if you would just come with me to Olympus, I think all of us would deeply appreciate it-" Leo Valdez doesn't get to finish his sentence before I blast the net with Hellfire and try to slice off his head.

"I don't follow orders, especially from somebody related to the gods." I backflip into a shadow and disappear into thin air.

* * *

Leo P.O.V

Damnit! I actually had the guy for a couple of seconds, but then he literally disappeared. It kind of reminded me of Nico; that guy freaked everybody out, especially with that shadow travelling power of his. Oh well, at least I won't be the only one who didn't catch him. I turn to go find Festus, before I hear yelling coming from not so far away, so I do the natural demigod thing; I sprint after the noise, trying to find it.

As I crash through the trees, my eyes take a backlash, as I see the 'Black Shadow' in the grip of Festus's strong claw. He was wriggling furiously, and had a mad expression on his face. If I wasn't on a mission here, I probably would've taken a few pictures, made a Flipagram and posted it on DemiTube, if it existed, that is.

"Hey, stop thinking and get me out of your dragon's tight grip! It's squeezing me to death!" The 'Black Shadow' sounded pretty damn annoyed, and that was enough to unsettle me.

"Um, yeah, no can do. See, I have to take you back to Camp Half-Blood – you know, the place you've been leading all the demigods – so Lord Zeus can decide what to do with you."

"Meaning, I'm going to go willingly with you to my death."

"Well, when you put it that way...yeah, pretty much."

"Then no." He summoned some shadows but before he could disappear again, I lunged forward and attached myself to Festus. The feel of Festus somehow reassured me, but it soon disappeared when I felt the most horrific experience of my life. It was worse than dying. It was like Thanatos was laughing his head off at me.

"What in Hades, dude! What was that?" I was pretty much terrified by the guy. I mean, he had the ability to turn anybody into a puddle of fear just by disappearing into thin smoke! Or now that I think of it, maybe they were shadows.

"It's called shadow travelling, Valdez. Besides, I think you had suspicions on who I was anyways. I mean, Nico di Angelo disappears, and suddenly this new guy pops up, claiming to be called the 'Black Shadow' and showing demigods to Camp Half-Blood? I basically told you my life after the break-up." Wait, what? He was Nico di Angelo? Since when did he make black get back in fashion?

"Right…. Wait, if you're Nico di Angelo, then could you please explain why half the demigods in camp are getting hurt really badly? I have a feeling it has to do with your disappearance, so don't try to lie to me."

"Um…. Nico-I mean 'Black Shadow'-awkwardly squirmed in his clothes as he tried to get away from my harsh glare. "I may or may not have kind of cursed the camp…"

My eyes widened as I gaped at him. "Well? Are you going to uncurse the camp or something?"

"Firstly, uncurse isn't a word, and secondly, Athena, get the hell out of my head!" He shook his head wildly, as I frowned at him.

"What are you talking about? Why would Lady Athena be in your head? Hasn't she got better things to do than annoy demigod protectors?"

"To be honest, I don't really know. But if you don't tell anyone about the whole Athena thing, the whole Nico di Angelo thing and the whole curse thing, I'll remove your curse. Deal?'' He looked at me expectantly, and I hesitated before shaking his out-stretched hand.

"Deal."

* * *

Meanwhile, up on Olympus, Artemis was bored. All her huntresses had gone to hunt down the Black Shadow, and she was told to stay behind, because Zeus didn't want any of the immortals to go after him, including Skylar. She decided to check the tracking device, to see if anybody had found him, and what she saw was the most bizarre sight anyone could've seen. Leo Valdez and the Black Shadow talking about Nico di Angelo, laughing and smiling.

"Wha-how is that possible!" To say Artemis was shocked was an understatement. She was completely baffled. She was irrevocably confused. And she knew who had the answers to all her questions.

"ATHENA!" Artemis raised her voice as she looked around wildly for the goddess of wisdom. Athena appeared, looking disgruntled and quite nervous.

"Yes, Artemis? I was quite busy, you know..." Artemis was furious. How dare she pretend as if she didn't know the answers to the 'Black Shadow' mystery. Artemis was sure that Athena played some sort of part in it. She was determined to find out who exactly the 'Black Shadow'.

"Don't pretend as if you don't know what's going on with the 'Black Shadow'. You're putting lives at stake. My huntresses could get hurt, and so could your daughter." Athena paled, but managed to cover up quite well.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Artemis." Athena was stuttering, looking anywhere but Artemis's eyes.

"Oh, really? So you're trying to tell me that the paleness of your skin, and the way you're stuttering and trying to not catch my eye isn't telling me that you do know?" Artemis was desperate for information. She needed to know what was going on. Athena sighed and gave in, telling Artemis everything.

"But you have to promise not to tell anybody, okay?" Athena sounded scared. It was obvious that she never told anybody, except for Artemis. Artemis, thinking through it, promised not to say a word to anyone, except her huntresses. That was her exception.

"So what you're trying to tell me is that the 'Black Shadow' is actually Nico di Angelo, and that you've been helping him the whole time, right under all our noses?" As Athena nodded, Artemis shrugged. "I guess we all have our secrets."

Athena raised her eyebrow, before sighing in relief. "It's such a relief to tell someone. At least now we can call off the search." Artemis blinked her eyes in surprise. This wasn't how this was supposed to go, at all. "No, we can't! We need to still make the search go on, or else they'll figure out something is up." Artemis sounded like she was pleading. What was really going on is that she wanted to go and catch Nico di Angelo herself. She wanted to see if he was your average male, and if he would degrade her just because she was female. Oh, and there definitely was another reason, one Artemis had sworn to never break.

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 ***Holds up shield* At least I updated! I'm not going to lie, I've got a whole bunch of shitty excuses for this hopefully wanted chapter, but here I go. Give me a second to take a breath.**

 **So, my grandparents arrived, and I was really busy with school and other stuff, but I swear on the River Styx that now that they're going to leave again, I will give you another chapter in the following week. Oh wow, that rant wasn't as long as I expected.**

 **But, on the brighter note, thank you for reviewing! Count this as your gift. I'm not one to not update just because I don't have that many reviews. Bye!**


	5. The Broken Kiss

**This chapter was surprisingly hard to write; I had writers brick for the majority of the chapter and I wanted to make it as long as possible to make up for the empty promise I made a month ago. Without further ado, here's Chapter Five of the Shattered Souls Chronicles, The Broken Kiss.**

* * *

 _Nico! I've got urgent new news for you! Wait, does that sentence make any sense…_ I sigh as Athena once again barges into my thoughts and breaks the beautiful silence that I was wallowing in. A visit from her always brightens up my day. Note the sarcasm, please.

"Athena, if you're calling me to tell me about how you learnt a new language and memorised the German dictionary, I'm swear I'm going to throw a boulder on top of you!" I mutter darkly, getting up and stretching my legs. Dam, I pulled a muscle. That's going to hurt later on, but I'll deal with that when it happens.

 _Of course not, but now that you mention it, I have actually finished reading the German dictionary. I'm now trying to memorise the French dictionary, and trying to learn Arabic. It's really difficult, but-wait; I need to tell you my news._ About time, Athena. I was wondering if I would have to hear you ramble on about the twenty different dictionaries and languages you've read the whole day. _I would've only told you about eight of them! Anyways, I need to tell you that Artemis knows you're the 'Black Shadow'. She was bored, and she walked over the stalker device, and saw you and Leo Valdez chatting to each other and pretty much figured out who you were. I only confirmed it._

I stopped internally rolling my eyes and widened them instead. A goddess knew about the biggest secret in my life? This was bad. Really bad. _You know, you can also use the words terrible, awful, distressing and dreadful._ I was too into my own panic attack that I just flipped her off and continued freaking out. _Seriously, it isn't that bad. Nobody else knows, and Artemis has promised not to tell anybody about our secret, except her huntresses, because they need to know every single thing that goes on in their patron goddess's life._ I honestly didn't need to hear anymore, so I telepathically told Athena to not disturb me while I start planning my own funeral for when Artemis and her huntresses come after me and shot me down with their arrows.

 _Wow, overdramatic much?_ She muttered into my head, before disappearing to go annoy somebody else. What else would she do in her spare time? I mean, she's got all her children to do all her work for her, so she probably spends her time learning dictionaries and messing up peoples days. What a life.

I probably would've freaked out for the rest of the day, or even longer, but that was before I heard the movement of branches not so far away. Raising my head, I leaned forward to hear any noises, and was rewarded with a feminine voice whispering something softly to what seemed like her friends. Pricking up my ear, I eavesdropped on their conversation.

"-and catch him!" The leader was whispering enthusiastically to the others. Getting murmurs of agreement from her friends, there was a rustling noise and I immediately got to my feet, summoning my sword from the shadows and pressing down on my skull ring. My Stygian Iron armour was hidden inside the ring, which was magic that was beyond anyone's reach.

Just as the armour had covered me completely, I was assaulted from the back by at least three huntresses, who were armed with daggers and swords. I fell forward and rolled over, throwing one of them off and standing up to fight the other two.

By this time, however, another ten or so huntresses were circling me, the majority having their bows out and one of them swinging an axe, which seemed to have come from nowhere. As I turned around slowly, trying to figure out who to attack first, I saw Thalia in the corner of my eye signalling one of the huntresses. I grabbed a spare dagger and threw it at her, missing her face by just millimetres.

She whirled around, glaring at me before looking me up and down. Seeing the recognition flashing in her eyes, she stepped forward, sheathing her bow and daggers.

"Nico! I haven't seen you in ages!" Her smile seemed so real, I almost couldn't help but think it was existent. I shook myself out of my thoughts and aimed another dagger at her.

The huntresses' reactions were, in fact, hilarious. One of them looked as though she had been electrocuted, another falling backwards and the majority of them leaning forward as though they had just realized that something was wrong here, which was correct in a way.

"I think the reason so is because I was shunned by Camp and everyone else, even my own father. Maybe you should just leave, because I'm not coming with you to Artemis." She looked shocked and… lovestruck? I didn't have time to dwell on that, as she turned away and signalled for her friends to go away. I frowned as all of them left except for one of them, a girl with amber eyes and a serious expression.

"Phoebe and I just want to talk, okay? If you want her to leave because you feel too awkward talking, then just say something." Thalia seemed genuine about her response, but that was what made it feel so fake.

I nodded and she waved her hand for Phoebe to go away, but before she left, she narrowed her eyes at me and glared at me with such intensity it felt like my insides were burning up.

"Sorry about that, if she was a little bit hostile to you. She's a daughter of Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, which takes her 'death glares' to another level," Thalia explained, her eyes bright and her mouth curved up into a smile.

"Well, what do you want to talk about? I've got demigods to be protecting," I snapped, looking at her coldly. I didn't want to have a conversation with the daughter of my least favourite god; that was certain.

She looked surprised once again, before putting on a dazzling smile and batting her eyelashes at me. She looked a little bit like Aphrodite when she did that, which made me even more unnerved.

"Oh, nothing much. How are you? Is the wilderness doing you any good?" Everything that she said seemed like the exact opposite of the Thalia I used to know.

"Good, I guess?" I didn't know how to answer any of her questions. I almost regretted asking her to send away Phoebe, before remembering her evil glare and realised that I didn't want her back.

Thalia smiled once more, before sighing. "Okay, I'm not going to lie to you; this fake act is really tiring." She stood up, stretching, and summoned some electricity, which flew around her fingers effortlessly.

Taking the hand she offered me, I pulled myself up so that I was standing in front of her with not much of a distance between us. I scratched the back of my neck and stepped back, before seeing the disappointment flash in her eyes.

It disappeared so quickly I wondered if I had seen it in the first place.

"So, what are you hunting me down for?" I tried to make my voice sound as light as possible, failing miserably.

"Lady Artemis wanted to talk to you, so she sent us out in groups of fifteen each to look for you. There were four search groups, so it was just a coincidence that we were the ones that found you. I doubt any of the other groups would've been nice to you at all." She shrugged, stepping forward so that we were in the same position we were when we both got up from the floor.

"Um, Thalia?" I didn't want to ask her to move away so that it hurt her, but she was making me feel quite uncomfortable.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind, you know, stepping away from me?" I cringed mentally. Even when I said it, it sounded terrible.

"You know what, it's fine, and I don't think I will." Wait, what?

"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Thals? I think you should go back with your group to Artemis again. I guess I'll have to come if she wants to see me."

"Yeah, I'm okay." She shot me a small smile before leaning up and whispering in my ear, "I have nothing to worry about when I'm with you."

I nervously laughed and stepped back. "You know, maybe we should go back and-"

I never did get to finish my sentence, as she pressed her lips against mine.

I was so freaked out by what had just happened that I stood there like an idiot while she kissed me. Fighting an internal battle on whether I liked her or not, I realised that if I wanted to move on from Skylar, now was the best time to do it.

I kissed her back, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, while I wrapped mine around her waist. We stood there for a while, just making out, before she pulled back, her eyes worried.

"Wait, what just happened?"

"To be honest, I don't know."

"Did we just-?"

"Yeah I think we did…"

She bit her lip nervously, before I broke the silence. "Why don't we pretend this never happened and move on with our lives? I won't tell Artemis about what just happened."

She nodded gratefully as she unwrapped her arms from my neck. I sighed, knowing that Aphrodite really did hate me. Thalia looked at me expectantly, as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Let's go."

* * *

"So what you're trying to tell me is that you're going to blackmail me with the fact that you know my secret identity if I don't do what you want?" I looked at the goddess incredulously, as she nodded, looking at me as though I was some sort of book she was reading.

I shook my head at her. "You're crazier than Athena and that's saying something. Do you honestly think that you're huntresses are going to stop and think for one minute why there's a boy in their midst? No, of course they won't! They'll be after me with their bows and arrows, shooting me evil looks and I think that that girl with the axe is going to chop off my head! Not to mention the fact that one of your best huntresses, Phoebe, is a daughter of Nemesis and is going to think of one hundred and one ways to make my life hell!"

She sighed after I had finished ranting. "If you're done, we can actually talk about what I want you to do if you're so against joining the hunt. You can either leave and make me an enemy, or you can stay and protect this hunt from all monsters that invade out land."

"There has to be another reasoning!"

"There isn't another way! Choose either one and do it fast! I haven't gotten all day talking to you and your whiney voice."

"Artemis, there is another way." We both turned around to see none other than my favourite goddess Athena standing by the doorway looking amused.

Artemis looked furious. "Are you trying to tell me that I've wasted ten minutes of my time listening to him go on and on about the downsides of joining the hunt, while all this time you could've just told us another way to resolve this conflict?" At Athena's short nod, if it were possible, Artemis looked even more furious. "Why, I ought to-"

"Hey, don't think that I wanted to be here in the first place! I'm only here because Thalia threatened to feed me to her wolf if I didn't talk to you for a few seconds at least! And then you had to make some of the most ridiculous proposals ever, which led to me wasting my breath arguing with you!"

Artemis whirled around, probably to decapitate me, and I'm sure she would've if not for Athena finally telling us what I can do instead of being target practice to the huntresses.

"Well, I suppose that could work…" Artemis looked thoughtful, her anger and both me and Athena gone for the meanwhile. Athena winked at me, mouthing something that looked like _I always have a plan up my sleeve_. But then again, it could've been _I always have a pain up my leave_. You choose.

Artemis glanced at the both of us before nodding. The two goddesses looked at me for approval, and I almost felt like shaking my head just to anger Artemis again, but I couldn't not admit that the plan that Athena had made up was a decent one. _Of course it's a decent one! I'm the goddess of freaking strategies, aren't I?_ I mentally rolled my eyes and told her the one sentence that usually brought bad luck and depression onto everything and everyone.

 _I guess we'll have to wait and see, won't we?_

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 **So, how was it? I know, it's pretty pathetic comparing to the fact that I couldn't submit this to you for a month, but I'm against unnecessary AN's and stuff, so yeah. Also, I don't like giving you people half written work, as that would be bad on my non-existent reputation. By the way, this chapter is almost twice as long than any other chapter I've done. This Authors Note is becoming way to long, but I just want to say thank you for reviewing, and also I just wanted to tell you that this story is not going to be finished any time soon. It will take at least another ten more chapters before I'm pleased with what I've created. So in the name of peace, love and Nico di Angelo, demigod out!**


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